News
Renewed fears of mass displacement as land deadline nears
Farmers and displaced communities are in a state of high anxiety as the deadline set by the government’s controversial land law amendment takes effect today with no sign of change. The Vacant, Fallow and Virgin (VFV) Lands Management Law, amended in September 2018, requires anyone occupying ...
Mekong Conservation Groups in Chiang Rai Want Written Proof that Blasting Project Scrapped
Members of the Rak Chiang Khong Conservation Group and other environmentalists still remain uneasy despite Thailand’s Foreign Ministry assurance that the navigation channel improvement project had been scrapped. Rak Chiang Khong and residents along the Mekong river are asking that the Thai Government make an official ...
Myanmar: Tanintharyi Chief Minister Arrested on Bribery, Corruption Charges
Tanintharyi Region Chief Minister Daw Lei Lei Maw was arrested on bribery and corruption charges in Dawei on Sunday, according to the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC). ACC spokesperson U Kyaw Soe confirmed to The Irrawaddy that the chief minister has been detained at Dawei Myoma Police Station, ...
ASEAN lacks crucial data on air pollution
A large portion of the population in Southeast Asia do not have proper information on the air they breathe every day. While an analysis of air pollution readings from Greenpeace and AirVisual found that 95 percent of Southeast Asian cities surveyed exceeded the World Health Organization’s ...
China committed to work with ASEAN on Code of Conduct – Ambassador Zhao
China is committed to work with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in crafting the code of conduct in the South China Sea to keep peace and stability in the region, Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Zhao Jianhua said on Wednesday. Keep reading ...
Women’s rights and river protection
Usually at this time of year during the dry season in northern Thailand, the Mekong River recedes, and sand and pebble beaches appear. Covering the pebbles, through the clear and shallow water, one can see the pale green kai, a river weed of the Mekong. This ...
China offers Rohingyas money if they return to Myanmar: Report
A Chinese government delegation reportedly met Rohingya Muslims in Bangladesh, promising each refugee up to USD $6,000 if they returned to Rakhine state in Myanmar, a Bangladeshi official and refugee leaders said Tuesday. Keep reading ...
Some 331 species are endangered in Myanmar
More than 5,000 species are endangered in Asia, around 800 in the Greater Mekong region alone. Plants and wildlife are used to produce traditional medicines, clothes and accessories. Hunting and poaching are practiced in about 70 pe cent of sanctuaries. In Southeast Asia and the ...
Governing the Ayeyarwady
THE CONTINUING conundrum over Myitsone, concern among farmers over river bank erosion in the dry zone and the delta and reports of declining riverine resources in Sagaing Region all indicate the need for coherent and coordinated governance of the Ayeyarwady River. The decision by President ...
Ethnic cultural centre in land dispute
A Bunong ethnic community representative on Tuesday claimed Mondulkiri provincial officials have not begun measuring land for the Hill Tribes Cultural Centre in the Phnom Dos Kramom mountain area even though they had received an order to do so from Prime Minister Hun Sen late ...
